“Whenever Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of carmakers Fiat and Chrysler, appears in public, television crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it’s easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines.

He’s John Elkann. And he’s Marchionne’s boss.”“The 36-year-old Elkann is tall, blond and soft-spoken, given to awkward silences during conversations. Marchionne, 60, is rumpled, dark and tart-tongued, reveling in his super-star reputation for pulling Fiat from the brink of bankruptcy eight years ago.”

I wasn’t particularly a fan of Sergio’s until I watched the 60 Minutes profile of him last spring. Now, I’m president of his fan club. He is exactly what Chrysler Motors car buyers and Chrysler employees needed.
You don’t need to agree, but do watch the podcast to see what I saw.

I think you are right. I looked this guy up since Marcelo said he’s old news; I’d never heard of him but I don’t follow Fiat either. Anyway, Elkann picked Sergio to be the Fiat CEO, ostensibly, so he could learn something. If you look at Elkann’s pedigree, it is exactly that a European family pedigree with little real-world, hard knocks experience. He’ll probably learn some reality from Sergio.

Francesco Da Mosto interviewed Elkann in his BBC series Top to Toe. Seemed like a very down to earth fellow. In a role he did not expect to fill. He has done fairy well.
I too am a big fan of Sergio. He strikes me as the kinda of guy I could drink and talk cars with for hours.

I didn’t think this was news, the guy’s been on the Fiat board in one capacity or another for nearly 15 years now.

I heard a rumor once to the effect that after the untimely death of Umberto, the Agnelli family wasn’t totally united in who should ultimately take over. John was the safe and most logical choice, but a certain faction wanted to see the Agnelli name itself continue at the helm, so his cousin cousin Andrea was also elected onto the board as sort of a Plan B.